"To become an outstanding ninja..."
Gulp— Gulp— Gulp—
Inside Konoha's Ninja Academy.
Shūichi Tanaka held his textbook, concentrating on his lecture.
But unlike other classrooms, accompanying Mr. Tanaka's voice was a distinct swallowing sound that stood out noticeably.
Ahem, ahem.
As he reached a stopping point in the lecture, Mr. Tanaka carefully glanced towards Jin out of the corner of his eye.
Seeing Jin was only slightly tipsy and showed no signs of going on a drunken rampage, he let out a silent sigh of relief.
In truth, he had lost count of how many times he'd appealed to the academy administration, requesting a transfer to instruct a different class.
After all, who knew when Jin might drink too much and flip out?
If Jin actually cut him down, there would be absolutely nowhere to complain.
For the first time, Mr. Tanaka felt that being a Ninja Academy teacher was a high-risk profession.
And the danger, unbelievably, came from a student!
"That concludes all the lessons for this afternoon. Next, we will be conducting a combat assessment."
Mr. Tanaka pulled out the day's schedule and announced.
"Huh? Another test?"
"Haven't there been a lot of tests recently?"
"A combat assessment? Is this the first time?"
<><><><><><><><>
Mr. Tanaka's words immediately sparked a wave of discussion.
Compared to usual, there had indeed been far too many tests lately.
Just theory tests alone, there had already been four this month.
Shurikenjutsu and Three Basic Jutsu tests had also been conducted multiple times.
But this was indeed the first combat assessment.
There had been sparring before, but those were practice sessions.
Assessments involved grading.
The results of every assessment would influence whether a student could graduate smoothly from the Ninja Academy and become a true Genin.
"Alright, everyone gather on the training grounds. Um..."
Mr. Tanaka clapped his hands, speaking loudly.
As he got to the end, his voice suddenly became cautious.
"Kurenai, Rin, could I trouble you two to bring Jin to the training grounds?"
Mr. Tanaka looked at Jin, who clearly hadn't been listening at all, and spoke carefully to Kurenai and Rin.
He felt helpless too; he didn't dare order Jin around.
But the assessment had to proceed. Even though in all previous tests—whether Shurikenjutsu, Three Basic Jutsu, or written exams—
Jin had scored a perfect zero every time.
Could you imagine a little drunkard trying to throw shuriken? Or fill out an exam paper?
The last time Jin took the Shurikenjutsu test, the entire class hid over a hundred meters away.
Terrified that the wobbling Jin might accidentally kill someone with a stray shuriken.
But Mr. Tanaka, as the teacher, couldn't hide.
He had to stand near the target to observe the students' throwing techniques and speed, and offer guidance.
Shuriken thrown with the strength of ordinary students posed no real threat to him, a Chūnin.
But Jin was different.
The shuriken he threw possessed speed and power exceeding Mr. Tanaka's own.
If judged purely on lethality, Mr. Tanaka would absolutely give Jin an 'Excellent'!
But the damn shuriken were aimed at him!
He barely had time to react before a layer of his hair was shaved off by a shuriken!
And don't even mention the written exams.
Jin couldn't even hold a pen steady; he spent the entire class period wrestling with the darn thing.
Yet, when Jin held a sword? Rock steady!
So, Mr. Tanaka could only rely on Kurenai and Rin, the two students in the class who had a relatively good relationship with Jin.
"Okay, no problem!"
"Yes! Teacher!"
Kurenai and Rin nodded their little heads, exchanging competitive glances.
They positioned themselves on either side of Jin, supporting his arms.
"Ngh, what's up? You two... wanna drink with me?"
Jin looked at Kurenai and Rin, mumbling.
"Alright, alright, just you two. I wouldn't share with anyone else."
As Jin spoke, he raised the wine bottle towards Kurenai's mouth.
"J-Jin-kun, maybe you should drink it."
Kurenai dodged hastily.
Although she adored the smell of alcohol, she still had to abide by the three prohibitions for ninja.
Besides, if she drank and her parents smelled it back home, she'd be dead meat.
Getting scolded was a minor issue.
The real problem was her father would definitely figure out she'd stolen all that liquor. If he hid it even better, how would she sneak alcohol for Jin-kun anymore?
"How 'bout you? Wanna drink?"
Jin didn't force it. Though his mind was fuzzy, Jin knew Kurenai and Rin often brought him drinks.
If anyone else dared ruin his mood like this, his Shūsui would have already made intimate, zero-distance contact with them.
"I won't drink either. Jin, let's hurry to the training grounds."
Rin chuckled softly.
<><><><><><><><>
And so, Kurenai and Rin, bantering playfully with Jin, supported him as they headed towards the training grounds.
"B-Bastard!"
Nearby, Obito and Asuma watched, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.
Kurenai and Rin were their goddesses!
While helping Jin, they clearly saw that bastard Jin taking advantage of the situation, getting way too close to Kurenai and Rin.
Asuma clenched his fists tightly, then loosened them helplessly.
He still couldn't overcome his fear of Jin.
Obito, however, was different. His eyes were bloodshot.
He looked like he wanted to tear someone limb from limb.
Clenching his fists, he stomped towards the training grounds.
<><><><><><><><>
~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 400 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter